The Floating Man Wars by John T Buckley - HTML preview

Chapter 9

Distance to Bassa’s Mind

After a long flight we were on the other side of the world. The Floating Man put a price on my head so high I almost killed myself for the money. We were licking our wounds in Taramash, a city of traders and artists. Just the sort of people The Floating Man hated.

The buildings were raw and red, made to look like ancient faces. It was not your mother’s treehouse, these people were outlandish and high as hell all the time. I loved it. I think anyone would if they’d seen what I have. The winds were light and Vola decided to walk around in a bikini (I didn’t mind for some reason). The sun was just right and the drinks were coming quick. I wasn’t sure if I should let my guard down but the moment demanded it.

“You gonna drink that?” asked Vola jokingly as she tugged at glass of strawberry rum.

“I was, maybe you should put on less clothing. I know I would.”

“Leftic, you are sly, maybe we should find out if there’s people interested in taking another shot at The Floating Man?”

“We should, and we will. Let’s ditch this spot and take a breeze around the city center. You never know who you’ll meet there.”

Vola ducked inside and came out a few minutes later in a red leather suit. I saw this and put on my black leather jacket and bright yellow t-shirt. The shirt read,” Goner’s are friends who get bored.”

“Let’s take the hovering sidewalk,” urged Vola as she stepped onto the airjet sidewalk and started to float away from me.

“Oh really,” I replied as I leapt onto the cushion of air and floated towards downtown. As we floated along we could see into people’s homes as they ate, laughed, and argued. I always wondered why people left their window shades open. I guess voyeurism is to blame but it still strikes me as odd.

“Having fun?” asked Penpig as he floated beside me and Vola. He was 5 foot 7 and very thin. His hair was tinted purple and he had on a bright yellow jacket. He looked cool enough to me.

“Oh yeah, we’re just looking for people who want a different life. You know any?” I asked calmly as I laid back on the airjet and watched a man puke out his window onto a woman sitting below.

“Let me guess, you’re not the biggest fans of The Floating Man?”

“You couldn’t be more right. We’re looking for soldiers and warships, are there any left?” asked Vola as she sat forward on the airjet and smiled a t young boy walked past.

“Oh yes, but the man at the top is your problem. If you killed him you wouldn’t need any soldiers.”

“What do you mean?” I asked intently as I looked over at Penpig.

“His soldiers are loyal to success. If he died they’d follow whoever made them rich. It opens a vacuum for someone to take the power. The question is who takes it?”

“That’s true, because someone invariably always does. What if we had someone loyal to the people?

Then life would be free for all,” suggested Vola as she pulled out a small juice drink and sipped on it.

“That’s interesting but power corrupts us all. What if this person becomes worst than The Floating Man, what then?” asked Penpig as he stretched out his arms and legs. He seemed the sort that made sure he was comfortable in any situation. I watched him carefully as I tried to get a read on him. Was he a spy, I wondered. I watched a young woman throw out a pale of hot water and she gave me quite a powerful smile. I was taken aback by this and tried not to stare but I couldn’t help it. Vola looked back and saw this

and cleared her throat instantly. I looked a t Vola and she knew I wasn’t going to be the sort that would cheat on her.

“Why not Leftic here, he’s a free thinker?”

“You ever murdered someone?” asked Penpig bluntly as he looked me right in the eye. I wasn’t sure what to say as I thought about the soldiers I’d killed.

“I have, but I didn’t like it.”

“Leftic, kings, rulers, whatever they kill people all the time. If you’re going to rule this world you’re gonna have to be ruthless. I’m sorry but that’s life,” said Penpig calmly as he pulled out a red disc and handed it to me.

“What’s this?”

“It will turn you invisible, hold onto it you might need it someday. Alright then I’ll help you, but for God’s sake don’t wimp out on me. We have to kill The Floating Man, there’s no way around it. Prepare yourself, Leftic, it won’t be easy,” replied Penpig as he slowly stood up at the end of the airjet. We all stood up and walked out into the crowd of people partying the night away.

“This looks fun!” Vola said happily as she ducked a man’s forearm and we made our way into the Rough Roger Cantina.

The Cantina was massive as it went for 50 blocks. It had hotel suites right in the middle of the restaurant. Easy access if you wanted a drink or something to eat. It seemed tacky to me but I wasn’t going to mention it.

“This place is wild,” I said just as I saw a dark skinned man by the bar punch out too drifters. I turned Vola’s head to see the men lying out cold on the floor and she was astonished by this.

Penpig got us a round of drinks and we walked into his hotel suite near the buffet.

“This is your room?” I asked in disbelief as I grabbed a large fried chicken wing.

“Of course, I don’t like to be too far from the action. Please, come in,” urged Penpig as I grabbed a jello shot and downed it.

Penpig’s suite was 800 square feet with high ceilings. Not the kind of room I expected to see. He had a trio of holographic computers set up in the middle of the room. The walls were red and had paintings of famous soldiers every 10 feet exactly. It struck me as odd but I didn’t mention it.

“Who wants a war?”

“I do,” answered Vola as Penpig cued up his computer and it showed live feeds of over 50,000

soldiers.

“These men here are mercenaries, for the right price you’ve got your army. Now, you may not need them if we can take out The Floating Man, but it’s good to have a backup plan.”

“Penpig, exactly how are you going to get close to The Floating Man? He’s only made of pure energy and can withstand just about any attack,” asked Vola as she watched the mercenaries doing combat drills.

“Easy, he’s to eat right?”

“You’re gonna poison him?” I asked in disbelief as I took a bite off my fried chicken.

“No, poison won’t do, we need to hit him with a blast of electricity so large he won’t withstand it. I bring up food because that’s how we’ll get close. Close enough to get that prick.”

“Ok, where is the weapon and don’t say we have to steal it? I said nervously as Penpig smiled and I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

“We ahh…we have to steal it from The Floating Man’s personal arsenal. Yeah and…we have to do it tomorrow or we’ll miss our chance. So, huh,” said Penpig as he rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

I looked around and felt a wave of nervousness come over me. I knew they would have the best security possible, I worked for them. Now we were asking for it.

“Then we do it, Leftic, it’s are only chance,” said Vola as she grabbed my right arm and rubbed it.

“Fine, then we do it, but where is this weapon?” I asked sheepishly hoping he wouldn’t say Bassa’s house (Bassa’s House was a stronghold for The Floating Man and the most dangerous place in the world).

“Bassa’s House, is that a problem?”

“I guess not, Penpig, let’s get going then,” I replied sadly as I let out a long sigh and looked out over the streets filled with people. Then we saw laser fire mow down 6 people and we knew who it was. “He’s here! Let’s get out of here quick!” I said quickly as I reached for my gun and watched 4 more people blasted just outside the bar. It was reaping, The Floating Man would just randomly kill people to thin the herd and scare people to his way of thinking.

“There’s a secret passageway here, in the floor,” said Penpig sternly as he pulled up a red string and a doorway opened beneath the carpet. I looked down in and it was dusty and dark, not exactly the perfect place to hide.

“It looks pretty crappy in there, are you sure that’s the way out?”

“Vola, trust me it leads to a tunnel to the outskirts of town. Come now, hurry!”

“Let’s go, Hun,” I said reassuringly as I gently pulled on Vola’s arm. She gave me a look of concern but then we heard a bomb blast outside and we hurried down the stairs.

We walked through the torch lit tunnel and saw rats and spiders everywhere. This seemed to be a bad idea but we were out of good ones.

“How far is it?” I asked as I kicked a rat away from my leg.

“Only a mile, we can jog if you want,” said Pigpen as he pulled out a glowing set of glasses and offered them to me and said,” These see through the dark, ya know in case the torches go out.”

“Thanks,” is all I could muster as a rank smell filled the tunnel. I felt nauseous and my throat hurt but onward we jogged. As we ran along I disappeared into my thoughts. In moments like these you have to make your own joy or face the horrors. This as a pair of rats nipped at my feet and I gotta tell ya it was terrifying.

“Ahh, these damn rats!” shrieked Vola as she nervously kicked away 3 rats from her feet and legs.

“Don’t worry it gets better. Around this corner and were safe,” said Penpig as he rubbed my shoulder and smiled.

I felt nervous, ya the nervous feeling you get before something really bad happens. We turned the corner and there set up in a long grass field were The Floating Man’s soldiers and warships.

“This sucks! We can’t go out there!” said Vola sharply as she pulled Penpig back to her.

“Vola, I’ve got the perfect disguise,” said Penpig as he pulled a box of uniforms out of the wall and then continued,” Put these on and cover your hair completely. Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,” said Penpig reassuringly as he handed me a soldier’s helmet and shirt.

We put on the clothes and then slowly walked out into the field of soldiers.

“Just act like it’s nothin’, and they’ll never know,” said Vola calmly as she walked past a pair of soldier’s cleaning their guns. I watched carefully as the soldiers each gave us a looking over. This plan was making me wish for the tunnel.

“Hey, Soldier, give us a hand over here!” yelled Corporal Rand Park (the 4th in charge in the Battalion) as he threw a beer into the dumpster and walked briskly over to me.

I looked down at first and then looked him right in the eye. “Yeah, what do you need?”

“Help us lift this, over here,” said Corporal Rand sternly and the 3 of us walked over to a large crate filled with The Floating Man’s energy cells. It was heavy and it was also dangerous to talk to these soldiers and we knew it. “Just grab the handles and lift,” ordered Corporal Rand as he literally grabbed my right hand and put it on the right handle. I felt completely emasculated but thought maybe this was a good trick to play.

“You got it!” I said firmly as I started to lift. We carried the large crate over to a supply ship and slid it into place. Corporal Rand was staring at me strangely and I didn’t know what to make of it.

Corporal Rand started dancing and asked,” Why are the trees burning if they’re wet?”

I froze for a second and then blurted out,” They aren’t, they’re smoldering.”

There was a long pause and Corporal Rand and the other soldiers started laughing. Wow that was lucky I thought. We could have easily been goners.

“That’s right, that’s absolutely right! Well make lively, Soldier, the night is young,” said Corporal Rand happily as he motioned with his hand for us to leave. Guys like that you have guess what the hell they mean half the time and you better guess right.

We hurried away from Corporal Rand and certain death. Penpig and Big Dan were talking out in front of us and they appeared to be scheming.

“Hey, Buddy, relax its working out,” said Heroy reassuringly as he nudged my shoulder.

“Strange, it doesn’t feel that way.”

“Fine, worry your life away but I intend on enjoying my excruciating death. That I tell you is where the real fun is,” said Heroy sarcastically as he smiled like a miner on payday. I watched as the soldiers

went about their tasks and I couldn’t help but wonder what they were planning. It made no sense to be preparing for a war that didn’t exist.

“Leftic, why are they loading their ships with bombs?” asked Vola as she watched a trio of soldiers driving large missiles and bombs into their warships. I looked at this and it dawned on me, they were going to take out a city. That meant more than likely one that had our friends living there.

“A city, probably Disa, that would mean maximum damage for us,” I said softly as it all made sense.

I looked around and saw they had heavy firepower ready to go. I wondered would The Floating Man kill us all to get a laugh.

“Not Disa,” said Heroy in disbelief as he pilfered a pack of cigarettes from a soldier’s backpack.

“Yeah, Disa I know him he’s trying to prove a point. And…he’s pissed we took him on, how dare we he must be thinking,” I said sternly as I looked around the staging area. I became clear it was going to have to be soon that The Floating Man got his comeuppance

Vola ran her hand through my hair and smiled.

“Hey, we’re jogging now,” said Big Dan sharply as he and Penpig started to run through a long enclosed tunnel of gear and weapons.

“You got it!” said Heroy as he picked up the pace.

We ran along and it seemed we were going to run all night. Big Dan stopped suddenly at the end of a clearing and pointed to a barn nearby. I looked over and saw the form and glowing face of Goilda. She was alive somehow.

“It can’t be,” I said in disbelief as she floated over to where I was standing.

“Leftic, witches never die, they only get drunker,” said Goilda warmly as she embraced me. She smiled and said,” I’m sorry, I couldn’t beat The Floating Man, I tried.”

“Don’t worry about it, his day is coming. How do you feel?”

“Like a hundred bucks! My back hurts my neck is bleeding…and I need a cigarette,” replied Goilda as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“So fine then?”

“Leftic, you rascal it is not a time for jokes,” answered Goilda as she took my hand and started pumping pure energy into my blood. I’ve felt strong before but never like this. I looked around and everything seemed clearer.

“Worry no more,” said Goilda warmly as she let go of my hand and smiled. I felt amazing, like after great sex and an even greater meal.

“Leftic, we have to get moving,” said Vola as she pointed to a glowing base in the distance. It was Bssa’s House and we weren’t prepared for the sheer size of it. It was 50stories high of death and destruction. I could only think I hope Penpig has a good plan.

“I can get you in,” declared Goilda as she pulled a handful of red discs from her pocket and handed them out.

“I already have one, you’re right, that’s our way in,” I said as I looked over the disc and saw it had a blue and green button on it. “Which one is it?”

“The blue for invisibility and the green to reappear,” started Goilda as she helped Vola attach the disc to her waist. “Careful, they only work 2 or 3 times before the battery cell wears out. Best to be careful with those buttons.”

I looked at Big Dan as he disappeared and it sent a chill down my back. I have never seen anything even remotely similar to watching a human being fade before my eyes. It’s terrifying to say the least. I

watched my own hand disappear and I wondered would I ever see myself again. These are the hard days we face and never forget.

“There’s not a lot of fussing time, follow,” said Goilda as she produced a warm yellow light only visible to us. I watched as Bassa’s House got closer and my nerves started to kick up. I can’t tell you how to be brave the graveyards are filled with heroes.

The Bassa House was alive with projectiles being randomly hurled into the air. This wasn’t a light show per se, they were just crazy.

“Hey,” urged Heroy as he grabbed my arm.

“What?”

“Once we’re on be careful not to touch anyone. They find out we’re in there, they’ll literally burn us to death. Be careful,” said Heroy as he let go of my arm and disappeared behind Big Dan. I watched as Goilda put orange sticks on a portion of the large wall. A moment later the atoms of that section were scrambled. Goilda pulled them out of there spot in the wall and we had a way in. Boy I love science.

We hurried in and there were soldiers and empty beer bottles everywhere. It smelled of bacon and the walls were covered in propaganda photos of The Floating Man. One read,” One mind thinks for us all.

That way there are no mistakes, only my unwavering thoughts and purpose. Never forget, never falter.”

I looked around at the dimly lit rooms and it hit me that these men were not here of their own free will. An army like that can be beaten, and beaten badly. We had a cause to fight for, that gave us strength and real purpose. An army with purpose is unstoppable.

“Vola, Vola, where are you?” I whispered as her electric body waves were out of sight.

“Here,” she whispered as she took my hand, I was watching those 2 guards over there, look,” said Vola as she turned me towards 2 guards who were falling asleep in their chairs. I looked and saw their security clearance badges were lying helplessly on the table beside them.

“Hey, we could use those,” I said softly as I started for the badges.

The badges were lifted into the air by Big Dan before I even got close.

“We got ‘em who cares!” Leftic, do we even know where we’re going?” asked Vola as Goilda opened a large maple door into a hangar bay. I watched as her invisible form glided inside and I felt powerful.

“Wherever we have too, that’s our burden. The Floating Man will be killed and that’s it!”

Then the room filled with electricity and The Floating Man said snidely,” Are you sure, Leftic?”

The End

About the Author

John T. Buckley crafts stories to keep you guessing from the edge of your chair. He is the author of several sci-fi and fantasy novels, including The Conquered, Chum, and Thrashing Ale with Den Sidion to name a few. Many of his books are set in Maine, where he was born and raised.

John credits authors such as J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and Frank Herbert as major influences on his writing.

Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked at Payless selling shoes. He now lives in Portland Maine.

Author website

www.johntbuckley.com